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WildStar: Reloaded and Why You Should Give It Another Chance

WildStar is now offline in preparation for its free-to-play grand relaunch and we’re all getting pretty excited to try this colorful MMORPG world with all of the improvements WildStar: Reloaded brings. But with so many changes, you would be forgiven for not knowing exactly what to expect, so let’s take a look.

WildStar: Reloaded

For all intents and purposes, WildStar’s free-to-play transition is a relaunch. Yes, the core of the game is the same. We still play as either an Exile or a Dominion seeking a new home and/or territory on this seemingly idyllic planet known as Nexus. This brings us to our first change, however. The story’s purpose has been consolidated. The tutorial story is straight and to the point with minimal wandering and we know exactly why we are going to Nexus, and what mysteries we hope to solve as we explore ever deeper through the planet’s wilderness, and these begin to unravel even earlier than they did before, which adds a sense of purpose to the leveling experience that wasn’t always present back at the game’s initial launch.

Okay, so this isn’t technically the first change you will encounter. That of course goes to the character creation screen, which has received a pretty awesome face-lift, and the tutorial sequence itself. Now, you are presented with three very clear options. There is an introduction for those who are new to MMORPGs which leads you through a series of simulations in the Cryo Awakening Facility that help you to get a very basic grasp of the game’s mechanics. You can skip this and head straight to the tutorial for people who are new to WildStar. This is more-or-less the same tutorial that was present at launch, but much more streamlined. It is definitely worth running through this if you’re new to WildStar or haven’t played in some time, as it condenses the game’s story into a small burst of gameplay. The third option lets you skip the tutorial altogether and jump straight into the leveling past level 3 which is mostly intended for long-time players making alts. There are options available for all experience levels.

When entering the game, you will be met with several new things right from the get-go. First, you will probably notice the daily login bonus. For every day you log into WildStar, you can earn some pretty awesome rewards. From dyes and crafting goods, to currencies, costumes and mounts. These are well worth logging in regularly for. You will also find the cash shop from which you can purchase a host of bits and pieces via NCoin, the NCSoft account-wide premium currency also usable in Lineage II and Blade & Soul, but also Omnibits, a new currency you earn from simply playing the game. This is also where you will find your loyalty level, rewarding you with some sweet loot for spending money and time with WildStar, and yes, spending Omnibits in the store counts towards this!

Another Chance

We have already talked in some depth about why WildStar deserves another look, but with free-to-play also comes the largest game update the MMORPG has seen, overhauling many of the problems that turned so many people away from the game.

One of the biggest complaints that I, personally, heard, was in regard to the lengthy attunement process which was jokingly nicknamed the “12-step program“. This attunement required each individual raider to jump through so many hoops that many decided they would rather not and didn’t complete it, then realizing they had “nothing else to do” at endgame, whereas others were locked out of raids because they didn’t have the time to spare to run themselves through it, and thus WildStar’s 40-man raids were a difficult undertaking, to say the least, even without taking the high difficulty level into account.

WildStar: Reloaded changes all of this up. Armor stats are leaving behind the confusing medley of terms such as Moxie and Finesse, and instead the base stats will be simple and clear, and the secondary stats will allow for further customization where needed. Raids will be much more accessible, the game will feel less grindy, and there will be much more to do for all types of players.

There are changes coming to the leveling experience, housing, raids, PvP, classes, costumes, collectibles, even the game’s lighting. And not a single thing behind a paywall. So if you had an issue with WildStar in the past, right now is absolutely the right time to dive in and give it another try. After all, it’s free – so you really have nothing to lose.

A New Beginning

This rowsdower is ecstatic. Trust me.

WildStar’s grand relaunch is so large that we couldn’t possibly fit everything into this post. The transition to free-to-play is a new beginning, a time for WildStar to really shine, because when it comes down to it, WildStar is a fantastic online game that does so many things right, it just did so many other things wrong. Removing the price tag and relaunching may be the best thing that ever happened to WildStar because not only does it give Carbine the chance to take the things that turned people off and meld them into something better, but it allows for unsure players to try the game for free, and perhaps even attract gamers who may not have tried WildStar before. This relaunch could very much be make-or-break for WildStar, and they are going all out to prove that they have a great MMORPG on their hands.

At midnight tonight EDT, WildStar: Reloaded goes live, with a full night of launch-hype shenanigans occurring on the official Twitch channel from 9pm. Tune in to the livestream to join the party, with interviews, giveaways, and special guests in the lead up to midnight, at which time they will be switching over to futuremangaming for the final countdown live from Times Square, New York, where they will be showing the world premiere of the new WildStar launch trailer!

It’s all very exciting, will you be checking WildStar out when it goes free-to-play? Which class will you be playing?

About Hannah Richardson-Lewis

Hannah is an avid MMO player and Twitter addict. You can usually find her exploring a hidden corner of some fantasy world or other, or squealing girlishly over vanity pets. As MMOGames' Assistant Editor she makes sure that you get the best content as well as other sneaky behind-the-scenes things. In her spare time, she blogs at Dragons & Whimsy and tends to hop between World of Warcraft, FFXIV, and LotRO.